Ments



9 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Patented Dec 2-8, 1897.

SIAQKER'.

A. BERTRAM.

' r 9 Sheets-Sheeti. A. BERTRAM.

(No Model.)

STAGKER.

No.596-,453. Patented Dec. 28,1897. S

WITNESSES:

(No Model.) I 9 Sheets-Sheet 3. A. BERTRAM.

STAUKER.

Patented Dec. 28, 1897.

WITNESSES: v

4 a e h s s a e h S 9 M m TK RC n .DD v A a d 0 M v w Patented Dec. 28, 1897.

Wgmm

TTORNEYvS.

(No M ode l.) 9 Sheets-8heet 7.

. A.BERTRAM.

STAGKER.

Patented Dec. 28, 1897.

WITNESSES:

9 Sheets-Sheet 8.

} -n Model.)

m R H. mm A mm No. 596,453. Patented Dec. 28, 189i.-

(No' Model.) 9 Sheets-Shet 9.

A. BERTRAM.

STAUKER.

o. 596,453. V Patented Dec. 28, 1897.

W E I mymft INVENTBRY.

BY /@%;W%W ATTORNEYS,

UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST BERTRAM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AssIeNoE, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, To DE FOREST SETTLE, RECEIVER OF THE INTERNATIONAL POSTAL, SUPPLY COMPANY, or .sAME PLACE.

s-T-AQKER.

SPEGIFICA'IIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,453, dated December 28, 1897.

' Appllcationflled Jsnuar'y 29,1892. Serial No. 419,629. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

. Be it known that I, AUGUST BERTRAM, .of

' the city of New York, in the county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented 5 new and useful Improvements in Stackers, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in letters, sheets of paper, envelops, and analogous articles upona receiving table or tray;

and to this end it consists, essentially, of. mechanism so, adaptedand arranged as to be.

by the encounter of said articles and contactpiece in the transit of the articles from the feeder .to the carrier.

The invention still furthermore consists in the detail construction and arrangement .of

c the parts, all as hereinafter more particularly described,-and, pointed out in :the claims.

' In describing this invention reference is-had p to the accompanying drawings, formin g a part of this specification, in which like letters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a top plan view and aside elevation of my invention, illustratingzthe general construction and arrangement of its parts, Fig. 1 .showingalso a portion of the table of a letter-marking machine having mountedfthereon marking'and presserrollers. Fig.= 3 is an enlarged top.

plan view, partly in section, of the re'ar'extremity of the receiving or stackingtable, ,fur- 5 .ther illustrating the detail construction and arrangement of its parts, and particularly the separatecontact-pieces movableinto'and out of the pathof the articles to be stacked for controlling the-action of the movable or as- 5o.semblingcarriera;Figs. 4 and 5 are respecstackers forassembling and delivering cards,

" nected to the carrier as to actuate the same tively rear and front faces of the rear upright wall along which the articles to be stacked are fed to the carrier. Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a top plan and outer side elevation of the feeder and the oppositely-arranged movable roller for increasing the feed of the carrier, the sprocket-carrying shaft of the carrier,and the wheel mounted on said shaft for rotating the same. Fig. 8 is an inner side elevation of the parts as shown at Figs. 6 and 7, illustrating clearly the construction of the connecting mechanism between the actuating-wheel on the carrier-shaft, the movable contactpiece, and the movable roller oppositely arranged to the feeder. Fig. 9 is a similar view to Fig. 8, representing the. mfovable dogcontrolled by the contact-piece as engaged with the actuating-wheel on the carrier-shaft for etfecting the rotationof said shaft and the movable en gaging face or roller oppositely ar' -ranged with the feeder as having partially rotated the actuating-wheel. Fig. 10 is a detache'd end elevation of the lower extremity of the partsas shown at Figs. 7, 8, and 9, the "actuating or ratchet wheel and its shaft being omitted. Fig. 11 is a horizontal sectional view, taken on line 11 11, Fig. 8, for further illustrating the general construction and op-.

eration of the dog adapted to engage the ratchet-wheel on the assembli ng-carrier shaft,

the movable support for said dog, and the cam Figs. 12 I for bringing the dog into operation.

and 13.are respectively a side elevation and inverted plan'view of the movable support for the dog adapted to engage the actuating or ratchet wheel on the carrier-shaft. Fig. 14

is an isometric perspective of the lever for controlling the operation of the dog for engaging said actuating-wheel. tail view, partly-in section, of one of the detached extremities of the rear end. of the re- Fig. 15 is a deceiving table or tray. Fig. 16 isa detail sec:

tional view, taken on line 16 16, Fig. 1,rep-

resenting a rib or guide on thema'chine tq' i which'my stacker is attached and the way on the receiving orstacking table or tray for receiving said rib. Fig. 17 is an isometric perspective of the detached plate for stopping the transverse movement of the articles to be stacked-across the receiving table ortray.

loo

. IO marking-"rnachine. 'gTh-isoperaition hasbe v measurably eifected' by "devices possessing; a constantly operating follower; movable" against the cards, letters, or other articles, or 15 coIitinually perating to engage said i and carry them toareceiving table, Moreover, 'stackers .operatingrasxdescrib and suit-able for'use with letter-markingma I chines or' similar devices discharging'letter e or analogous articles with great. rapidity have" provided for a downward feeding of the let- I .a sufiicient distance from the adjacentedge d of. the table A..

1 Fig. 8.

--or successively arranging one against the by, positively-acting feeding devices,

' I downward movement;

' adapted tobe operated in connectio automatic letter-marking machine o r tin with great speedyand thus..-neees'si;tat

It is well known that at present great difli cult-y is experienced in practically stacking other quicklydischargedcards,letters, sheets of paper, envelops, and analogous; article" and particularly the letters fed from metre tic ters, occasioned either by force of gravity or My present invention is particularly dilf er j entiated from the aforesaid types of stackers in" that therlett erorother article to befstaeked is utilized to bring into action. mechanismfor feeding thesam'e along the receiving or as it sembling-tablez or tray; It 'isfurther diif entiatediin tli'at'the stacking tableor tray p' efe'rably in substantially the sam'ehor, aneasathebase'of, the' rn'arkingeri ing-ro llers o'f the letter-orIotherldelivering a chine for thelett'ers on othenarticlesito be; 35

stacked, wherebysaid articles feed into asub' stantially horizontal plane without excessive 2 v the carrier .and f'slightly i 1; t nace or h t ei rt ar be n m b ,;In order that my inventionm'aybe; understood, I have herein shown a scribed as an example thereof a c'oiisi fl use of a speedy and accurate stacking e to receive and assemble the letters disch' ge than letterrmarkingi machines. and it construction may. bevariedto confer required use Without material change' .i i essentials or departure from the spirit. hf

invention.

A represents a portion of the tableof any carrier E against a stop-plate F, resting upon suitable cons'truction of n1achine, as afmaib matter-marking machine,to which my stacker is to be attached, and ,B and C'su-itable feeding mechanism, consisting, preferably, in a' The table A and rollers and Care, itis evident,'of any-desirable form, size, and .con-

I struction, providing the rollers B and C are quired force to the receiving or assembling table or tray .0, and it is therefore unnecessary to further describe the construction or thatinstead of feeding the letters forward by marking-roller any otherdesire'd form of ceding mechanism may be utilized, :TheYtable gor tray D is disposed in a horiontal plane a trifle lower but substantially oin'cident with that of the table A of the mail- "jmattere marking machine and is arranged ntly' desirable to permit access to the ced ng mechanism, as the marking and resserfrollers B and G, and for this reason I provide the table A with for'wardly-extendin g r guides or ribs A, movable in ways or grooves.

,whereby-the same may be readily withdrawn 1, For the purposeot reducing to a minimum the friction of thearticles to be stacked inci-v Edent to their lengthwise travel of the table or ing,' essentially,' 'of suitable flexible aprons E projects above the To facilitate 'n'easymovem'entof the cart'rintervals with a series nets Eii jou'rnaled in the "aidcarrie'r; These rolloovejs d' dd and bear y or the drivers? e e and a p a 7 rs fe'e as said driversare 0pera'ted to. move the carrier. It'is evident,

howeveflthat a singleapron maybe used in-.

3 "ste'adof three and that the detailconstrucmy invention. t v 4 v The articles to be stacked are, as presently stated, fed .edgewise upon the assembling- -.the carrier and provided with an eye f,m'o vable upon a rod F side of the carrier in'upwardly projecting eyes f f provided at the "opposite 'extremie ties of the'table'or' tray D. e v

Gis an upright'wall or-plate at the rear edge of the table or tray D, along the front face of which the articles to be stacked are be formed'integral wit'hj-fthetable D, but is Wearing-plates d d d ti-on of the apron' f'orms no essential part of suitably supported at the here illustrated as removably secured thereto capable of feeding the letters with the re:

arrangement of these parts, it being evident hwise along the edge a thereof. It is a ct inthefunder face of the table or tray D,

tray D l'fprovide ana'ssembling-carrier movvv able -lengthwisel of the. table D and consist- .,;:of said iapronsinterposed between the dru ms, Q e-e e and ev :e=.eiformsjthefoperative part of fed by the rollers-B andO. This plate'may 3, l bear against the rear face of the wall G,

forced forwardly, as shown by the arrow 1 at byscrews g.- At thelower edge of the plate is a projecting downwardly-inclining shoulshoulder is a groove or recess G which obvi v ates blurring of the mark or stamp impressed upon'the letter by the marking-roller B, as the portion of the letter having the mark thereon is free to yield backwardly when its front face encounters the rear face of the previqusly-stacked letters.

The contact-piece H for b'rin gmg the carrier mechanism into operation upon the presence of the article tobe stacked'forms an essential feature of my invention'and consists, essentially, of a movable bar-or lever h, pivoted at h at the rear of the upright wall G, and a front engaging face 72 adapted to project beyond the front face of the plate or wall G through a slot or cutout G therein for making contact with said article, which is movable along'said wall G. The engaging face 72. consists, preferably, of a looselyrevoluble roller mounted upon a pin h supported by the end of the bar or lever h, forced into its normal position by a suitable spring H The amount of projection of the roller or engaging face 7L2 of the contact-piece H is regulated by an adjuster 11, consisting of a screw movably mounted on the bar or lever h and adapted to At the lower edge of the bar or lever h, best shown at Fig. 4 as consisting of corresponding strips, isa projecting arm H which engages the forked end 'i of a lever I, pivoted at 2" to a bracket'J, suitably supported upon the frame A by bolts J in the required proximity to the end of the upright G and the contactpiece H. The lower end of the lever I is formed with a projecting shoulder i adapted to ride alonga suitably curved or inclined bearing-face 7c of a ratchet-dog K, formed with a tooth K, adapted to engage an actuating or ratchet wheel K rigidly secured to the shaft E of the assembling-carrier driver e.

The face is convex, and when in its normal position the shoulder i engages the central convex portion of said-face and holds the tooth K out of engagement with the'ratchet- Wheel K As the upper ehd'of the lever I is Fig. 8, the shoulder i is rocked backwardly, as shown at Fig.- 9, and permits the tooth K of the dog K to fall into engagement with the wheel K*, which action is facilitated bythe operation of a spring m, interposed between said dog K and a shoulder 70 of asupport K or sliding-block, to which the dog K is pivoted at W. After the dog K is forced forwardly, as presently described, for partially rotating the ratchet-Wheel K it is then retractedfas also presently described, and simultaneously the resetting-finger, also presently described, is

" operated to rock the lever I into its normal position for holdingthe tooth K out of engagement with the ratchetm'heel -K A constantly-rotating shaft l,which may be I utilized for operating'any siiitable construction of feeder for. the articles to be stacked, is journaled in suitable proximity to the contact-piece H and the ratchet-dog K and is here shown as journaled in the bracket J, previously described. Upon this shaft, as best seen at Fig, 11, is a cam 1-, which moves the dog K lengthwise and partially rotates the ratchet'wheel K when engaged by the dog, as previously stated, thereby moving the carrier. Instead of operating directly upon the dog K the cam engages the front end K of the support or sliding block K previously referred'to, to which the dog K is pivoted at 70*, thereby forcing the dog forwardly in the direction illustrated by arrows 2 at Figs. 8

and 9, and as its tooth K is engaged with the ratchet the same is partially rotated, as previously stated. A suitable spring K having one end secured at K to the bracket J and the other to an eye K uponthe sliding support or block K retracts the block to its normal position immediately after the passage of the cam-tooth Z of the cam Z.

The feeder L preferably consists of a frictionally-engaging roller mounted upon the shaft Z and rotating in the direction shown by arrow 3 at'Figs. 1 and 3 for forcing the articles to be stacked directly against the engaging face 71 of the contact-piece H. It will thus be evident that as a single article to be stacked is fed forward by said roller L its advancing end forces the engaging face or roller 71. backwardly from in front of the upright wall G, and thereby rocks the lever I through the medium of the bar or lever hand the arm k and permits the depression'of the dog K into engagement with theratchetK as previously described.

As best seen at Figs. 1 and'2, the portion of the periphery of the feeder or roller L adapted to engage the articles to be stacked projects beyond the vertical plane of the in- .ner face of the wall G, and in order to positively insure engagement of the advancing end of the article .to be stacked with the en- L until it engagesthe front face of the wall G and the engaging face 72, of the contactpiece H. 1 j

e N represents the resetting contact-piece gaging face or roller 72, of the movable contact-piece H for bringing the assembling-can for retu-rningthe contact-piece H to its nor-.

mal position, thus aiding the spring H inits operation, and as here illustrated this contacfipiece N consists of the opposite end of the strips forming the barh and an engaging face or loosely-revoluble roller n, journaled at'n at the extreme end of said contact-piece N. It is thus evident that the contact-pieces II and N forinia eontinuonslever, {the inner lendof which carries the, roller'h adapted tehe forced outwardlyby the front end of the advancing. article tobe, staeked andr; that the roller' n at'jhe rear end: of 'said l'ever'is" movement'it encounters the roller 1 2,'i "rees the same. baokwardly,'and thereby resets the iii'g face oiroller h pro'jectsbeyond the front 'face of the, wall G into "position to be again ingarticleqto be. stacked. flhi's resetting of the contact-piece H returns the lever I to its normal positionj'as previously sta*ted,, and

v "causes the said lever, to normally held the;

"dogfK-out-of, engagement with the ratchet- ?wheel'Kh It is thusev ide'n' t that asthe dog }K is normally held. outof engagement'with thef ratchfiwheel K? the continuous" movek meiitofthe; earn Z, '--in connection. with the nntilthe'eontact-pieee isactuated to release the dog :K "from its inoperative, position,- wher enpon' the reciprocal, movement of the dog} effects the partial I revo1nti0n -;of the spring K continually reciproeates the ,dog' Kybntdoes not transmit motion tothe' carrier i 'atch etwheel K? anda: constant "movement of -the carrier. ,,The-moven,1ent of-the carrier is 1 slight, 'howeven'an'd merely; sli'ffi'eient to F forcethe" articles to -.be stacked a slight dis th'ereof'at theJ'ear ehd of said table or tray "in proximity to the upright wall G, which would tend to retard. the fluency "of the feed 'behin'dtheother. It is evident, however,

that the described form of centact-piece'll and eonnec't-ingsmechanism between the same '7 and the assemblingearriereaetnating, -mech- 'anisni for efiectingthe inovenreht'of the ear-v i'ifer. npon'the presence in front of the'wall Gv tanee along-thestaeking or, assemblingtable -or tray in order m obviate close packing andfthe snceess'iye feeding of the letters, one

ef- "theiar'ticle to be stacked and the eonselqne'nt'engagementof the .eontact '-piece with ,Jsaidarticle'is onlyon'eforni' of such mech- Janis'm suifab1e' for carrying out m yjnven'tion,

into'laetioh'. Consequently I do not herein that the same is not limited to-any spe eonstr'uction of 'contact-piece in the path; of: the article ,to' be stacked and adapted to v ,finiakefeontact therewith-and bring the. carrier h -1 ml Selim the sc i f rmof Contacti pieee' or 'eonnecting n1eehanis1n between saidiward facet: the'znpright wall G, as otherwise c Upo raeticaloperation of nay-invention it hasbeennoted that the contact-piece can" eentaet gieeeand thecarrier; z

31 01; thecontactiece; H V .with theiinner; incline .p; the i'orwa'rdly-exproject only slight'dis'tance beyond'the for-i,

the-fluency of'the fedis retarded and 'a thin letter, postal-card,- or analogous article is 1:11

able to efieet-the required action of said con itaetfpiecel jfflonsequently when thick letters h h I h I roller oand agnard Pcause' the arti'eles't'o- (are passedfltojthe stacker, the slight projection Iandthereby permits thedog K toei'igage the of the contactpiece andr'theconsequent limited movement of the asscmbling-carrier effected bythe described construction of con- 'and- -the assembling-carrier is insnflicient to -neeting mechanism between thecontact-piece H produce the requ-i red movement of the carrier.

I therefore provide an auxiliary,carrier-aetn ating mechanismfl the construction and operation of: which; 'ser'ye to add to .--the utility of myinventionf ThisihechanismOcensists,

preferably;of-an'engaging face or roller 0,

loosely mounted upon agspin'dle 0", supported (by links or yielding'bearings ofllunged to the bracket J, previonsly; described. l {At the lower end -of the"shaft ois a small loosely-revollible rolle'rjo which engages the jforked end o of aprejecting arm Q upon the 'slippo'rt' or. bar K -This roller-0,. as best seen at F-igs. land his normally forced against the perip-lier-yof the feeding-roller L byaspring O",1Fig. 7, having one end secured tothe lower -link-0 ;and the othert'e the bracket J, and'it' is evident that as a thick letter intervenes between the rollers L an d v o in, its forwardpassage to "my improved stacker the sliding l n'pport orbar'K? is moved forwardly aJdisltance corresponding'to the ihicknessof the letter; -It is also evident thatas the. adva'ne' ing end of'a'thi'ck letter or.0ther article, which" is, its lthinnest, portion and is comp'ressed by h the rollers L ando; emerges from ,betw'een said'jv rollers it operates the contact-piece II ratchet-wheel K and partially rotatethe same as the remainder and thicker portion of the letter or other articlepasses between the roll ersiL; and 01 Themevement of the support or bar K carrying the deg K, is, however,

independent of the movement fsa'id -bar,-ef-' feeted' theic'am Z {and niay' causethe ear.- rier to move a' much greater distance than'said;

cam as the support K -is moved Lforwardly'a 'distaneege'orrespondingtethe thickness of the lett'em v I haveialso'discovered upon practical operation of my invention that-the articles to be -'staeked, feeding rapidly [to the stacker, are more onl-essliable to rest-against the contactpiece H when their forward J'IHOVBlIlGllfi is stopped'and :'prev eri't its operation by thesnce'eedilig article; but'this undesirableresnlt is totallybbviated by the roller 0,;which, "asit and? by a'gfuard-fib P; secured "to the front face of'th'e'wall G at the-outside of the roller This rih'is" formed tendi'ngf central portion-j), ,and the ont'er in- :cline pfland is, preferablyef less length than the distance between 'therollershf and n in ,order that the articles; toybe stacked; may reresetthe centact pie'ee II.-

tnrn the'rol'lerm'to'its normal position and As illn'stratedfby dotted lines a Fig. i,- nie be stacked to incline forwardly at their inner extremities, and thereby present an open space between the inner end of the laststackedarticle and the adjacent face of the upright wall G, thus insuring a successive feed of the letters one within the other and I permitting a fluent feed of the articles to be stacked one within the other.

. In order that the articles may feed directly from the rollers 13 O betweentherollers L and 0, they may be guided in their passage by suitable guides R, Figs. 1 and 3, consisting of spring-bars of desirable form, size, and

construction curving outwardly from the roll- My improved stacker is provided with a suitable ,stop S, Figs. 1 and 17, forlimiting the movement of articles fed thereto." This stop is preferably adjustably supported on the upright wall G and consists of a=head having a groove S for receiving the upper edge of said wall G and a depending stopplate arrangedin the path of articles fed to said stacker. A suitable clamp S passed through an ear S holds the stop-plate firmly in its adjusted position.

The operation of my invention will be readily perceived from the foregoing description and upon reference to the drawings, andit will be particularly noted that its parts are simple in construction and operation, that the articles to be stacked are fed positively along the stacking or assembling table or tray by an assembling-carrier brought into action by the presence of the article feeding to said table or tray, that a thick article causes the assembling carrier to be feda greater dis- .tance, and that the advancing end of the separate articles to be stacked is free to feed within the rear end of the preceding article. It is evident, however, that considerable change may be made in the relative construction and arrangement of the parts of my stacker without departing from the spirit of my invention. lIenceI do not herein limit myself to such detail construction and arrangement.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isr 1. The combination of a movable carrier upon which the articles are stacked, a movable contact-piece projecting into the path of said articles for making contacttherewith,

and connections between said carrier and conrier, substantially as specified. v

3. The combination of mechanism for feeding the articles to be staeked,,a movable carrier upon which the articles are'stacked, a movable contact-piece projecting into the path of said articles for makingcontact therewith, and connections between said carrier and contact-piece, whereby the contact-piece controls the action of the carrier,substantially as set forth. r

4:. The combination of conjointly-operating rollers for successively feeding letters or analogous articles, and a movable carrier upon which the .articles fed by the rollers are stacked; of a movable contact-"piece projecting intothe path of said articles for making contact therewith, and connections between said carrier and contact-piece, whereby the contact-piece controls the action of the carrier, substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination of mechanism for feeding the articles to be stacked, a movable carrier normally at rest upon which the articles are stacked, continuously-operating mechanism for actuating thecarrier, acontact-piece projecting into the path of said articles for making contact therewith, and connections. between the continuously-operating mechanism and the contact-piece for intermittently connecting said mechanism with the carrier, substantially as specified.

6. The combination of conjointly-o'perating feeding-rollers for the articles to be stacked, a portion of the face of one roller being arranged in advance of the corresponding portion of the face of the other roller, a carrier "upon which the articles are stacked, a mov able contact-piece projecting into the path of said articles for making contact therewith, and connections betweensaid carrier and contact-piece, whereby the eontact-piececontrols the action of the carrier, substantially as described.

7. The combination of a movable carrier for theiarticles to be stacked, a movable contact-piece projecting into the path of said articles for making contact therewith, connections between said carrier andcontact-piece, whereby the contact-piece controls the action of the carrier, and a guard for holding the stacked articles away from the contact-piece, substantially as specified.

8. The combination of a movable carrier for the'articles to be stacked, a movable contactpiece projecting into the path of said articles for making contact therewith, connections between said carrier and contact-piecdwhereby the contact-piece controls the action of the carrier, and an adjuster for varying the movement of said contact piece,- substantially asset forth.

' 9. The combination of a movable carrier for the articles to be stacked, a movable contactpiece projecting into the path of said articles for making contact therewith, connections between said carrier and contact-piece, where by the contact-piece controls the action of the carrier, and a second contact-piece for N tions between said carrier and contact-piece; tov

whereby the contact-piece controls the action oi thc'carrier, and agnide,as R, fol-conductiug the articles to said contact-piece, substantially as .specilied.

ill. The combination olf a movable carrier normally at rest upon, which the articles are I stacked, mechanism for operating said carricr, a movable contact-piece projecting into the path of-said articles for making contact therewith, connections between said mechanism and thecontact-pieee for opcratively connecting said mechanism to the carrier, and a second movable con tact-piece for makingcontactwith said articles and resetting the former contact-piece, substantially as set'fortln 12-. The coin'bination of a movable carrier for the articles to be stacked, a movable con-' tact-piece projectinginto the path of said articles for making contact tl1ercwith,.an engaging face movably mounted in proximity to the path of said articles and movable outwardly therefrom by the passage of thick a1,- ti'cles, and connections between said carrier, contact-piece, "and. engaging l ace, whereby the contact-piece and engaging face control the action otlthe carrier, snl'istantially asde: scribed; l i

13. The combi'uationof a mo'vablecarrier for lhc articles to be stacked,a pivoted lever having separated engaging faces for alte,rnatcly projecting into the path of said 'articles,and connections between said carrier and lever, whereby the lever controls the'action of the carrier, substantially asset forth. l

1- The combination of a movable carrier for the articles to best-acked, a pivoted lever. having separated engaging ,faces for-alter nately projecting into the path of said ;'art i'- cles, connections between said carrierand 1e- I provided with rollers at its opposite extremiand connections between said carrier and le-',

ties for alternately projecting into the path of said articles, an adjuster for varying the, amount of projectionof one of said rollers,

ver, whereby the lever controls the action of thecarrier, substantially as specified;v

' 10. The combination ofi' a novable carrier for the articles to be stacked, a pivoted lever provided withrollers at its opposite extremie ties for alternately projecting into the path' ,able dog, substantially as set forth..

of said articles, a springfor ihrowing one of the rollers into the path oi; said articles, an adjuster for varying the amountol' nojccl'ion of said roller, and cminecl iou's l'w-nrcen said carrier and lover, \\-'h' r b the lever controls the action of the carrier, su'hslanl ially asand for the pnrposeset forth.

17. The combination 0!. a. movable carrier for the articles to bc-stackcd, a rcvoluble shaft in proximity to the carrier, a wheel for operating the carrier, 'a movable, dog for actuating said wheel, acam on'the rcvoluble shaft for operating the dog, a contact-piece projecting into the pathiot' said articles formal:-

ing contact therewith; and connections lie-- tween said-dog and contact-piece fort'orcing I the dog into operative position, substantially as described;

18.. The combinationof a movable carrier for the articles to be stacked, a-=revolnble j .Qshaf t in proximity to-the carrier,'awl1eel for operating the carrier, a movable dog for actu; ating said Wheel, a cam on'the revoln'ble shaft for operating the dog, a contact-piece pro into operative position, and asecond contactpiece for encountering 'th'e mail-matter and" shaft in proximityto the carrier, a wheel'for operating the carrier, afmovable dog for actufor operating thedog, a lever for holding-said jecting into the pathof said articles for makingcontact therewith, connections'betweensaid dogandcontact-piece for forcing-thedo'g ating' said wheel, a cam on the revolnble shaft dogont of engagement withthe wheel; acona tact-piece projecting into thepatli-of said ar ticles for making contact therewith, and connectionsbetween said leverand'contact-piece for rocking the-lever and permitting the gage thewheel, subst-antiallyasfde" dog to en scribed.

'20-. Thecombination'pf a movable'c'arrier for thearticles'to be'stacked, a wheel for op- .erating the carrier, aniovalole; dog for act i- 'ating said wheel, a sliding support for move;

ing the; dog, an. engaging face-arranged I in proximity to the path of said articles, and connections between the'sliding snpportand' v the engaging'face for operating said J sliding support, snbstantia'llyas specified; I

21JThe combinationof a movable carrier for the articles to be stacked, a revolulole shaft in proximity to the carrir,.a wheel for operatingthe carrier, a movable; dog for" actnat ingthewheel, a cam on the revoluole shaft for operating the dog, a contact-piece projects in}; into the path of said articles for eontrolling the operation of the dog, an engaging face arranged in proximity to the path of; the

,mail matter for operating said dog to partially rotate the. wheel; and connections. between the movable dogandsaid contact-piece and engaging face control the action of the movf engaging face, whereby the contact-piece and 22.-The combination with-a. table having projecting guides and mechanism supported on said table for feeding the articles to be stacked; of a table or tray for receiving the articles discharged from the feeding mechanism and provided with ways for receiving the guides of the former table, and a carrier movable longitudinally along the table or tray and having its upper face projecting above the corresponding face of said table or tray for feeding the articles along the same, substantially as specified.

23. The combination with vmechanism for feeding articles edgewise; of a wall along which the articles are fed, a guard on said wall for forcing the previously-stacked articles from the wall to permit entrance of the succeeding article behindthe former one, and a shoulder projecting from said wall for sup porting the lower edge of the letters, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

24:. The combination with mechanism for feeding the articles to be stacked, a table or tray for receiving the articles discharged from the feeding mechanism, a wall along which the articles are fed provided with a projecting shoulder arranged directly beneath the path of said articles for supporting the lower edges thereof, and a carrier movable in a plane in close proximity to said shoulder for feeding said articles, substantially as described.

'25. The combination of mechanism for feeding marked articles ed gewisc; of a wall along which the articles are fed provided with a recess or groove arranged opposite to the articles for making contact therewith, and

connections between said carrier and contact- -piece, whereby the contact-piece controls the act-ion of the carrier,substantially as specified.

27. The combination of mechanism for feeding the articles to be stacked, an inclined support for said articles, a carrier arranged beneath said support, a contact-piece project: ing into the path of said articles for making contact therewith, and connections between said carrier and contact-piece, whereby the V contact-piece controls the action of the carrier, substantially as described.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 14th day of January, A. D. 1892.

- AUGUST BER'IRAM.

\Vitnesses IRVING RULAND, ISAAC P. STORM. 

